nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

Damien Dempsey

surfrunner

What are people's views on Damien Dempsey?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

lotdpd

hey guys

seen damien play a couple of weeks back in drogheda.... good gig ****e crowd full of drink so that spoiled it for me no appreciation to any artist,

there was two guys doing support act for damien on the night, first guy was really good, but the second guy was very very good, sang a song about brian murphy (burlo night club incident) anyone any idea who he is that was support, i forget his name but i have heard he plays support to damien a good bit.

Any help please?

watsgone

Big Fan

He is what he is, sings what he likes and I enjoy the music, great live to

suzieb

lotdpd wrote: »

hey guys

seen damien play a couple of weeks back in drogheda.... good gig ****e crowd full of drink so that spoiled it for me no appreciation to any artist,

there was two guys doing support act for damien on the night, first guy was really good, but the second guy was very very good, sang a song about brian murphy (burlo night club incident) anyone any idea who he is that was support, i forget his name but i have heard he plays support to damien a good bit.

Any help please?

I was also at this gig and I've been to lotsa damos gigs and me and all my friends who are also big damo fans thought this was the best one so far. The crowd really got behind him(even more than usual) and the atmosphere was electric.
Know people have different opinions of him but from the first time I'd seen him live I was hooked. He has to be seen performing live to be appreciated.
I was also at gig in electric avenue in waterford last friday and it was really good but the layout of the "venue" wasnt great but still got to shake the big mans hand as we were so close to stage! Hes a legend! Hes totally opened up my opinion on irish music in a very positive way.

And for people slating his lyrics listen to the colony.Most of his lyrics aren't just simple rhyming and weak writing he really knows how to connect with the listener.

The singer who supported him in drogheda that sang "tell me who killed brian murphy" was called eoin glacken...thought the song was a bit much-it drew the audience in but it made for very uncomfortable listening imo!

Go on the damo!

Dyr

right so i listened to him doing the rocky road and rainy night in soho. The rocky road is neither good nor bad but its a bit superflous given that Luke Kelly nailed the song so well.

Rainy night in soho is just dull and plodding, flat as a pancake.

marzic

IMHO, damos ok, he has a certain charisma, and tbf the lyrics below, i think the songs called "we sing...", demonstrates what he's best at, writing simple raw honesty songs and singing them in his own style.

"Mary loves the grouse, hides the bottles round the house,
She watches chat shows and the soaps, broken-hearted but she copes,
Michael's out of work, feels he's sinking in the murk,
He's unshaven and a mess, finds it hard some days to dress
Stevie smashes the delf, 'cos he can't express himself,
He's consumed by rage, like his father at his age,
Rita's little child, has a lovely little smile,
This means nothing to her father, because he's never even seen her.
Joey's off the gear, he's been clean for half a year,
He gets bored out of his mind, but he's tryin' to toe the line
Maggie's in a chair, 'twas joyriding put her there,
She puts the kettle on the boil, and she's always got a smile"

However, his latest album of well known irish folk ballads/ songs by irish folk writers/ anything considered popular in an irish pub, would appear to me indicitive of a songwriter with writers block, an easy-out, the auld greatest hits cant be far off, what about an album of swing? Perhaps its the Sharon Shannon connection, see whats happened to Mundy? Who will be next to record Galway Girl? will 'courtin in the kitchen' be on the b-side?

Keano!

Used to be a big fan of his but no so much any more....

...like a few of his songs but lost interest over the last while...

Tony_Montana

He's a class act, and is well known around Wales too.

yomchi

Met him in town yesterday, he's busy giggin all over the place. No new album til next year, he also wants to see a bit of the world so may do some travelling. Hopefully he won't keep us waiting too long for the next one.

looder

This is the best song I've ever heard damo singing. I would love to get it on cd if it's available - it just showswhat a legend the man is

CSC

Cheers for posting the vid - it's fantastic.

neil_hosey

Ive been a fan of damo's for about 5 or six years now, friend of mine introduced me to him, it was around the release of "seize the day". I thought the album was great, and he has just blown me away with every new album. This rubbish about the accent is crazy, ive heard him speak at concerts and he sounds the same as how he sings. I dont hear any put on accent, and im a northsider.

Anyway, heres a link to all his albums. You can listen to any of his songs that he ever released.

http://www.ufomusic.com/artist/index.php?artist_id=157

for any one who is only getting into him now, have a look back at "they dont teach this **** in school" and have a look at songs like bad time garda, its important, and ESPECIALLY . . . ive no alibi.

Its been a pleasure over the past few years though seeing this guy evolve. Also, he was always a trad singer, but also writes his own music trad/reggae/damo style

JP Liz

great Irish talent

Celtic67

I think Damien is a real gem. He delivers every song with passion and with a sense of storytelling feel to them. People referred to Luke Kelly earlier in the thread who was one of my heroes but when comparing them one has to note that Damien writes all his 0wn material (apart from the Rocky Road to Dublin album).
I would also agree with those who prefer his version of rainy night in Soho to the original.

Handsome Bob

Loved Seize the Day, loved Shots but To Hell or Barbados was poor. Haven't got his latest.

Btw, I know Dempsey, I train in the same club that he boxed in and he still comes down the odd time. A top bloke and completely down to earth, and he's lived life to the full if you what I mean.:D

Celtic67

LZ5by5 wrote: »

Loved Seize the Day, loved Shots but To Hell or Barbados was poor. Haven't got his latest.

Btw, I know Dempsey, I train in the same club that he boxed in and he still comes down the odd time. A top bloke and completely down to earth, and he's lived life to the full if you what I mean.:D

I know a couple of lads who live beside him in D/Meade and does seem to be quite a character and not averse to a good session.

Handsome Bob

Celtic67 wrote: »

I know a couple of lads who live beside him in D/Meade and does seem to be quite a character and not averse to a good session.

There's no BS with him you know? He really has stuck to his routes and he has no time for the manufactured side of music, which comes across in his music and in conversations with him.

Celtic67

LZ5by5 wrote: »

There's no BS with him you know? He really has stuck to his routes and he has no time for the manufactured side of music, which comes across in his music and in conversations with him.

Damo quote
"There's not many out there singing for the working man" - Love it.

EDoyle

If you ask me Damo is on par with Luke Kelly, god rest his soul, and any other singer/songwriter produced by this country, or infact anywhere.I agree that Colony is perhaps the greatest song ever written. And as for Christy Moore, Damo mops the floor with him.

Michael Collins

EDoyle wrote: »

...And as for Christy Moore, Damo mops the floor with him.

And it was all going so well...

fitz0

EDoyle wrote: »

If you ask me Damo is on par with Luke Kelly

You cant be serious, can you? He is nowhere near Luke Kelly not in a hundred years. Ill give it to Dempsey hes not as bad as I used to think but in all seriousness hes not THAT good.
As for the Christy comment, the less said the better:P

studiorat

EDoyle wrote: »

If you ask me Damo is on par with Luke Kelly, god rest his soul, and any other singer/songwriter produced by this country, or infact anywhere.I agree that Colony is perhaps the greatest song ever written. And as for Christy Moore, Damo mops the floor with him.

The Donaghmede music mafia speaks...

When people tell me Damo's god I just say "two words.. Dublin Town".

in fact another two - Pecker Dunne.

suzy66

:)Damo is the real deal....no bull****, songs written and performed from the heart. That counts for a lot in these days of manufactured ****e and size zero! Go see him live and then come on here and say he's crap!

TheAlmightyZeus

Goin to see him in Vicar St. on the 18th of December. Its gonna be great!

Nick_oliveri

Ill just leave this here.
http://visualplant.net/video/publishers/ufomusic/damiendempsey.php

vag77

TheAlmightyZeus wrote: »

Goin to see him in Vicar St. on the 18th of December. Its gonna be great!

I SAW HIM LAST THURS NIGHT IN DE BARRAS IN CLONAKILTY WELL RECOMMENED ITS LIKE SITTING IN YOUR FRONTROOM LISTENING TO HIM BRILLANT

the bolt

Jon wrote: »

Dare I say it, Dempsey's version of 'A rainy night in Soho' is better than the original!

sorry have to disagree with that,good live ,not brilliant

luvs2spooge

Green Hornet wrote: »

+1.

Puts on the accent. Drive you crazy.

How annoying is this??....-ive a friend, we're from Wexford, and whenever theres a singsong goin on he sings Kelly The Boy From Kilanne or the Twang Man in the very same accent as Damo Dempsey...drives me up the f*cking wall!!!!

But Id like the bit a Damo every now and then!

fh041205

Oh i'm glad someone dragged this up again.

As far as I'm concerned, it is a sin to try and make a career out of singing Luke Kelly/Pogues etc. songs. They sang them far better than any mere mortal can ever aspire to reproduce. By all means do it for your own enjoyment, but when you try to make money out of it, you cross that line into the relm of pitiful talentless parrot-folk.

Damien Dempsey deserves exactly 0 credit for these songs. He may be a nice guy and a good mate blah blah blah.......but he will never compare to these artists because he's just not original.

Whiskey Devil

fh041205 wrote: »

Oh i'm glad someone dragged this up again.

As far as I'm concerned, it is a sin to try and make a career out of singing Luke Kelly/Pogues etc. songs. They sang them far better than any mere mortal can ever aspire to reproduce. By all means do it for your own enjoyment, but when you try to make money out of it, you cross that line into the relm of pitiful talentless parrot-folk.

Damien Dempsey deserves exactly 0 credit for these songs. He may be a nice guy and a good mate blah blah blah.......but he will never compare to these artists because he's just not original.

I'd have to disagree completely. Damien Dempsey made a name for himself long before singing anybody elses songs. He has had a lot more success with his own material than his most recent album of traditional/cover songs. He's a number one selling artist in his own right.

While they may not be better than some of the earlier recordings (I doubt he'd argue otherwise), I think Damien Dempsey does many of the songs justice on his recordings. Luke Kelly may have made the majority of these songs his own, but he didn't 'own' the songs. If it wasn't for people like Damien Dempsey and the many other people out there singing these songs (on a smaller scale) they would soon be lost forever.

Comparing Damien Dempsey to people like Luke Kelly and Christy Moore is pointless. Damien Dempsey is first and foremost a songwriter. Luke Kelly and Christy Moore are not.

Luke Kelly is the greatest singer this country has ever produced. It's one of those rare occassions where there is no argument.

Handsome Bob

fh041205 wrote: »

Oh i'm glad someone dragged this up again.

As far as I'm concerned, it is a sin to try and make a career out of singing Luke Kelly/Pogues etc. songs. They sang them far better than any mere mortal can ever aspire to reproduce. By all means do it for your own enjoyment, but when you try to make money out of it, you cross that line into the relm of pitiful talentless parrot-folk.

Damien Dempsey deserves exactly 0 credit for these songs. He may be a nice guy and a good mate blah blah blah.......but he will never compare to these artists because he's just not original.

What are you talking about? Everything bar his most recent album was original material. He also stated that the reason that he did the cover album is because he believed that today's younger generations were forgetting about Irish folk/trad legends and their music.

Seize the Day and Shots put Dempsey on the map, so he didn't make a career out of "Luke Kelly/Pogue songs".